Cafe Du Monde, A Review

I Had No Idea What Cafe Du Monde Was, Now I Want It All the Time

I've had beignets before but they were the kind that was served to me at a cafe in Austin and even though I enjoyed them, I thoroughly doubted whether they were authentic or if the beignets in NOLA were better. Now I had the chance to find out.I didn't know what I was thinking but when we got to Cafe Du Monde, there was a long line and I was not expecting that. I was told over and over that Cafe Du Monde was famous and everybody and their dog enjoyed eating there. I just never put two and two together and was surprised but not irritated by the line.Still, the line moved fairly quickly. Even huge parties of people were seated surprisingly fast. Even though everyone was seated efficiently, everyone was not served efficiently. I am sympathetic about that though. There we quite literally hordes of people at Cafe Du Monde. We were all bunched up shoulder to shoulder. We didn't know if we were supposed to raise our hands or call someone over or just patiently sit.Another thing that we didn't know about Cafe Du Monde is that it's strictly cash only. As my friends and I were sitting there in the cafe waiting for someone to clear our table and take our order, we wondered how we were going to order and pay for this meal given that we had zero cash with us. It caught us off guard but I suppose that in such a high traffic place, it was easier and faster to do cash. One of us just popped back out into the street really quick to find an ATM while the rest of us put our orders in with the sweet old Asian lady that was our server.That was the other strange thing about Cafe Du Monde. From what I saw, all of the people working there were of Asian descent. I mean, don't get me wrong, mad props to my people for running such a popular and efficient cafe in one of the busiest tourist destinations in America but I'm still confused. I expected Cajuns and Creoles to be running the show at Cafe Du Monde. I didn't expect ahjummas and titas. And like I said, I'm not insulting them. I don't think that they should not be working there. I am just plain confused. If one or two of them were Asian, I'd probably take no notice. But from where I sat, the entire staff was Asian. I just plain wonder why or if it was intentional.

What Did The Beignets Taste Like?

In short, it tasted like heaven sprinkled with a large helping of powdered sugar. Picture a freshly baked donut, you know, the kind that was light and fluffy and has the texture of a cloud. Now picture something softer and fluffier and more melt in your mouth. Now that is the texture of the beignets at Cafe Du Monde. The bread itself was so heavenly and powdered sugar was such a perfect complement to them. I found myself pushing some of the powdered sugar into the beignet before I took a bite just to make sure each bite I took had the maximum amount of sugary goodness in it.No trip to Cafe Du Monde would be finished without talking about the Cafe Au Lait coffee they have there. The coffee was rich and smooth and creamy but it wasn't sweeter than the beignets and it was the perfect complement to those sugary little donuts. Just talking about them now makes me want some! Is it crazy to go back to Louisiana just for some beignets?

Would You Recommend Cafe Du Monde?

DEFINITELY! That's a big yes! I'll even go with you! The beignets there are to die for and it is well worth all the hype that I heard about it. But if you do go, be forewarned about the line. Although it didn't take us longer than 15 minutes to get seated that morning for breakfast, it is something to watch out for. If you were to go during peak tourist season, expect lines. And also learn from our mistakes and carry some cash with you in New Orleans especially if you'll be hanging around in the French Quarter. It's just far easier to deal with cash than to be fiddling around with your various cards. But most importantly, don't forget to slip into that well deserved food coma.